


In the Cracks of Light

by paperxcrowns



Series: Dick and Dami Week 2021 [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Birthday, Brotherly Bonding, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Batman, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Older Sibling Dick Grayson, Light Angst, No editing we die like jason todd, Sibling Bonding, as he should, chosen family, dc didn't give damian a birthday, dick said no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29919399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperxcrowns/pseuds/paperxcrowns
Summary: It doesn’t occur to Dick that Damian might not know his birthday.prompt: Dami's First Birthday with Dick
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Series: Dick and Dami Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199357
Comments: 8
Kudos: 101
Collections: DickAndDamiWeek2021





	In the Cracks of Light

**Author's Note:**

> there's no actual birthday in this, just talk of it, but i decided that it was going to count so there

Dick had to admit it, when he’d made Damian his Robin after Bruce’s death, he hadn’t expected it to be so hard. He and Damian were working like two magnets that repelled each other. Dick pushed and Damian pushed in retaliation, often choosing to ignore Dick’s warnings on patrol and going off on his own. 

Dick could tell Damian was getting frustrated with him, and it broke Dick’s heart that he knew why. Every time Damian misbehaved, ignored Dick, completely went off the grid during patrol before inevitably coming back to the Penthouse much later in the night, Dick never yelled at him. Damian was testing the limits, pushing to see how far he could go. Dick reprimanded Damian, but he’d never once raised his voice at him. At first, because Dick had been afraid that raising his voice or just getting on Damian’s bad side meant Damian vanishing into the night. After all, he’d been sent by Talia and Ra’s to train with Bruce. Now he was dead, and there was only Dick around. He’d been terrified of being the reason he’d push Damian into going back to the League. 

Now, it was purely because the kid didn’t deserve to get yelled at for disappearing, not even if it gave Dick near heart attacks every single time and would probably give him gray hairs before he turned thirty.

But three months in, and Dick was certain he and Damian were finally making progress. Ninety-five percent sure.

“Good morning Damian,” Dick said as he entered the kitchen. “Morning Alf.”

It was Saturday, which meant that Alfred was making pancakes that day. Dick loved pancakes. And he’d learned that Damian loved them too. He’d learned that Damian had a sweet tooth, and from the clear disgust and utter confusion on his face, he was pretty sure Damian had also learned that at the same time. 

“Good morning, Master Dick,” Alfred said pleasantly.

Dick smiled. He was glad he was making some progress in fixing his family. At least, a part of it. He shoved thoughts and worries of Tim and Jason away. 

“How are we feeling today?” Dick asked, making his way to the coffee machine.

“Fine,” Damian replied in a clipped tone. 

“Slept well?” Dick asked, mixing sugar and milk in his coffee. “I slept great, for once. It’s a nice change of pace.”

“I slept perfectly fine, Grayson,” Damian snapped. “There is no need to ask me such things.”

Dick shrugged. “It’s important to me that I know you and Alf slept well.”

He glanced questioningly at the butler. 

“I assure you, I have been sleeping perfectly well, Master Dick,” Alfred replied. “Would you mind?”

Alfred handed Dick a plate stacked high with pancakes that Dick accepted before heading back to the kitchen table.

“Help yourself,” he told Damian, already forking three onto his plate.

Damian slid one onto his plate before reaching for the maple syrup. Dick would normally poke fun at Damian for that, as he had done with Tim and Jason, but Damian didn’t work like that. That was okay, Dick was no stranger to helping people and being patient with them. If anything, his years working as a social worker made him appreciate the smallest amount of progress just as much as bigger progress. 

“So do you want to do anything special today?” Dick asked.

Damian narrowed his eyes at Dick in suspicion and Dick mentally slapped himself.

“Why?” he asked. “What’s today?”

“A day closer to my birthday,” Dick replied. “And yours.”

Damian frowned in that way dick had learned meant he didn’t understand. Immediate red flag. But then again, most of what Damian was used to or was confused about was a red flag. It made Dick want to burn Nanda Parbat to the ground.

“I don’t have one,” Damian replied, tilting his chin up. “There is no need for a birthday.”

Dick blinked at the kid, then looked at Alfred, completely lost. Alfred simply nodded at Damian, encouraging Dick to say something. Because that was what raising a kid was like. Dick felt sorry for Bruce and Alfred, for causing them both so much trouble as a teen. Though Bruce did deserve most of it.

“Birthdays are important,” Dick said. “You were born. That should be celebrated.”

Damian stabbed his fork into his pancake. “Why?” 

Dick mentally sighed. There goes a mellow Saturday. 

“Because it should make your parents unbelievably happy that you were born, Dames.” Damian pursed his lips and Dick sat there, still completely lost and wondering once again why he ever thought he could do this. “When’s your birthday? We’ll celebrate it together.” 

Damian stared at his plate. “I don’t know,” he said, his voice even. “There was no reason for me to know.”

Dick held on to the ‘was’ in Damian’s statement to avoid really thinking about how fucking sad the rest of the statement was.

“That’s great!” he said, trying to find any bright side to this.

Damian looked up and glared at Dick. Dick spoke before Damian could.

“That means we can make one up,” he said. “You can choose any day you want.”

Damian stared at Dick, half like he expected him to tell him he was joking. He hated that he was used to that look. 

It was only four months in, Dick still had time. 

“Any day?” Damian asked. 

Dick shrugged. “It’s your birthday. I think it’s pretty cool you get to choose.”

He reached for the sour cream and Damian wrinkled his nose. Damian found American food too bland and strange for his taste, and never failed to criticize Dick for his food choices. Sour cream and maple syrup worked  _ amazingly _ well on pancakes, and Dick was going to die on that hill. 

“I don’t need a birthday,” Damian said. “I was born, there is nothing special or unique about that, and therefore no reason for any of you to make a fuss. Why do you always insist on making such meaningless things out to be so important?” 

Because they  _ were _ important. At least to Dick. 

Dick shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal. Just cake and presents among family. That’s how I like to celebrate.”

Damian scowled. “You can’t receive gifts without earning them.”

Dick snorted. “Trust me, surviving another year  _ definitely _ earns me a gift.” He coughed to smother his laughter and set down the maple syrup. “But really. Damian, you don’t always have to earn a gift. Sometimes, someone just wants to give you something because they wanted to. It’s a show of love. Like saying ‘I love you’. It’s a reminder that you matter to someone.”

Damian’s expression didn’t change. He kept staring at Dick with that impassable blank wall. One day, Dick was determined to read Damian’s blank stares.

“June second,” he said before standing up. 

It took Dick a moment to understand what Damian meant by that. By the time he grinned at Alfred, Damian had already vanished back into his room, probably for the rest of the day. Maybe Dick could coax him out in the afternoon to get ice cream, but that could wait.

“You hear that Alfred?” he asked. “We’re making progress.”

Alfred smiled as he sat down at the kitchen table with a mug of steaming tea. “You sure are, Master Dick.”

Dick laughed. “Raising kids is hard.”

Alfred raised an amused eyebrow. “Indubitably, Master Dick. Master Bruce really didn’t choose the easiest children to deal with.”

If Dick hadn't been an easy child, then Jason and Tim had been much worse. Cass was the only other assassin, and yet she was the tamest out of the whole merry bunch. Bruce had been insane to choose to do this to himself four times. Dick loved Damian, but he was not adopting a child of his own. One was stressful enough.

Dick groaned. “Tell me about it.”

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr ](https://blas-ph-emy.tumblr.com/)


End file.
